Apparatus and method of image display with real-time compression
A method and apparatus of displaying image with real-time compression and decompression. An on screen display (OSD) data and an image data are overlaid and output for display and the efficiency of display is increased through real-time compression and decompression of the on screen display data, thereby reducing bandwidth for accessing memory.
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The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of image display, and more particularly to a method and apparatus of displaying images with real-time OSD (on screen display) data compression and decompression.
Typically an electronic drive including a display presents both images and on screen display (OSD) data. OSD data includes text, cursors and graphs for interactive control of the display apparatus. In digital camera, recorder and player products, a conventional method for displaying the OSD data includes overlaying the image data and the OSD data in a memory, and outputting the final result to a LCD or TV.
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OSD data 103 is not as complicated as image data 102, and primarily includes predetermined text of a single color. Thus commonly used characters, numbers and symbols are stored in a program data segment or in read-only memories (ROMs) bundled with the product. When needed, these data are read and rearranged to output desired OSD data 103. Usually OSD data 103 are highly repeated so many times since they are certain predetermined characters and symbols, such that when accessing these OSD data 103, the bandwidth of memory 101 is reduced, also the power consumption of memory 101 is increased.
SUMMARYAn object of the present invention is to provide an image display method capable of real-time OSD compression. The image display method includes the following steps. First, an image data and an on screen display (OSD) data are stored in a memory. Thereafter, the OSD data is compressed, and the compressed OSD data is also stored in the memory and transferred to a graphic engine. The compressed OSD data is then decompressed by the graphic engine, and obtaining a decompressed OSD data. The graphic engine overlays the decompressed OSD data and the image data, an output image is generated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus with real-time OSD compression. The display apparatus includes an encoder, a decoder and an overlaying unit. The encoder compresses an on screen display (OSD) data into a compressed OSD data. The decoder decompresses the compressed OSD data into a decompressed OSD data which equals to the original OSD data, and the overlaying unit generates an output image by overlaying the decompressed OSD data and an image data.
The display apparatus further includes a memory for storing the image data, the OSD data and the compressed OSD data, and a display for displaying the output image. The display is a liquid crystal display (LCD) or Television (TV).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the invention solely to the embodiments described herein, will best be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention is provided in the following.
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Another display product of an embodiment of the present invention is provided, please reference to
In an embodiment of the invention, as shown in
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According to the embodiments described above, the invention provides an efficient real-time compression and decompression hardware method and apparatus for digital display products, reducing bandwidth of accessing memory and the power consumption during data transfer.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art) Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Claims
1. An image display method with real-time compression for use in an electronic device, comprising the following steps:
- providing an image data;
- producing an on screen display (OSD) data for display;
- compressing the OSD data into compressed OSD data;
- decompressing the compressed OSD data into a decompressed OSD data; and
- generating an output image by overlaying the decompressed OSD data and the image data;
- wherein the decompressed OSD data equals to the OSD data and the OSD data comprises a plurality of lines.
2. The image display method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compression step comprises:
- encoding consecutive identical byte data in the lines into data pairs (number of bytes, byte value); and
- storing the data pairs corresponding to each line in a sequence.
3. The image display method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the decompression step comprises the following steps:
- reading a sequence of data pairs corresponding to each line, wherein each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value;
- extracting each data pair into a stack according to the number of bytes and the byte value therein; and
- recombining the extracted data in the stack line by line to obtain the decompressed OSD data.
4. A display apparatus with real-time compression, comprising:
- an encoder, for compressing an on screen display (OSD) data into a compressed OSD data; and
- a multi-controller, for generating an output image by overlaying a decompressed OSD data and an image data, comprising: a decoder, for decompressing the compressed OSD data into the decompressed OSD data;
- wherein the decompressed OSD data equals to the OSD data and the OSD data comprises a plurality of lines.
5. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:
- a memory, for storing the image data, the OSD data and the compressed OSD data; and
- a display, for presenting the output image.
6. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein:
- the encoder encodes consecutive identical byte data in the lines into data pairs, wherein each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value; and
- the encoder writes the data pairs corresponding to each line into the memory in a sequence.
7. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein:
- the multi-controller reads a sequence of data pairs corresponding to each line from the memory, and each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value;
- the multi-controller extracts each data pair into a stack according to the number of bytes and the byte value therein; and
- the multi-controller recombines the extracted data in the stack line by line to obtain the decompressed OSD data.
8. An image display method with real-time compression on an electronic device, comprising the following steps:
- providing an image data and an on screen display (OSD) data from a memory;
- compressing the OSD data into a compressed OSD data through a graphic engine;
- writing the compressed OSD data into the memory;
- transferring the compressed OSD data from the memory to the graphic engine;
- decompressing the compressed OSD data into the decompressed OSD data through the graphic engine; and
- outputting an output image by overlaying the image data and the decompressed OSD data through the graphic engine;
- wherein the decompressed OSD data equals to the OSD data and the OSD data comprises a plurality of lines.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compression step comprises the following steps:
- reading the OSD data; and
- compressing the OSD data into the compressed OSD data according to a data length and a data type of the OSD data.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compression step comprises the following steps:
- encoding consecutive identical byte data in the lines into data pairs, wherein each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value; and
- writing the data pairs corresponding to each line into the memory in a sequence.
11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the decompression step comprises the following steps:
- reading a sequence of data pairs corresponding to each line, wherein each of the data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value;
- extracting each data pair into a stack according to the number of bytes and the byte value therein; and
- recombining the extracted data in the stack line by line to obtain the decompressed OSD data.
12. A display apparatus with real-time compression, comprising:
- a memory, for storing an on screen display (OSD) data and an image data;
- a graphic engine, for accessing the memory and generating an output image, comprising: an encoder, for compressing the OSD data into a compressed OSD data, and writing the compressed OSD data into the memory; a multi-controller, for reading the compressed OSD data from the memory decompressing it into the decompressed OSD data, and outputting the output image by overlaying the image data and the decompressed OSD data;
- wherein the decompressed OSD data equals to the OSD data and the OSD data comprises a plurality of lines.
13. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising a display for presenting the output image.
14. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the multi-controller further comprises a decoder, for decompressing the compressed OSD data into the decompressed OSD data.
15. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein:
- the encoder encodes consecutive identical byte data in the lines into data pairs, wherein each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value; and
- the encoder writes the data pairs corresponding to each line into the memory in a sequence.
16. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein:
- the multi-controller reads a sequence of data pairs corresponding to each line from the memory, and each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value;
- the multi-controller extracts each data pair into a stack according to the number of bytes and the byte value therein; and
- the multi-controller recombines the extracted data in the stack line by line to obtain the decompressed OSD data.
17. A display apparatus with real-time compression, comprising:
- an encoder, for compressing an on screen display (OSD) data into a compressed OSD data;
- a decoder, for decompressing the compressed OSD data into a decompressed OSD data; and
- an overlayer, for generating an output image by overlaying the decompressed OSD data and an image data;
- wherein the decompressed OSD data equals to the OSD data and the OSD data comprises a plurality of lines.
18. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:
- a memory, for storing the image data, the OSD data and the compressed OSD data; and
- a display, for presenting the output image.
19. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein:
- the encoder encodes consecutive identical byte data in the lines into data pairs, wherein each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value; and
- the encoder writes the data pairs corresponding to each line into the memory in a sequence.
20. The display apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein:
- the decoder reads a sequence of data pairs corresponding to each line from the memory, and each data pair comprises two elements, a number of bytes, and a byte value;
- the decoder extracts each data pair into a stack according to the number of bytes and the byte value therein; and
- the decoder recombines the extracted data in the stack line by line to obtain the decompressed OSD data.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 23, 2005
Publication Date: Sep 29, 2005
Applicant:
Inventor: Tsung-Heng Chen (Taipei)
Application Number: 11/087,421